Covert Operations - Almost One-in-Five Canadians (17%) Secretly Clipping Flowers from Others' Gardens

Toronto, ON - A Home and Garden TV (HGTV) survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid shows that almost one-in-every-five Canadians (17%) report that they have secretly clipped flowers from a public or a neighbour's garden. While, one in five (19%) Canadian property owners who have lawns or gardens say that they feel the need to compete with their neighbours for the best garden or greenest lawn.

Other findings of the survey include that of a list of possible garden ornamentation, bird baths and wishing wells (62%) are the favoured pieces of garden ornamentation for Canadian property owners (70% of the Canadian public) with lawns or gardens. Decorative wildlife such as butterflies or deer is cited by 16%, followed by garden gnomes (10%) and pink flamingos (4%).

In addition, one in five (21%) Canadians would prefer to spend time in their garden than spend intimate time with their partner or spouse (76%) on a sunny Sunday morning.

These are the findings of the HGTV Survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid between March 4th and 7th , 2002. The poll is based on a proportionately representative randomly selected sample of 1,000 Canadians, 18 years or age or older. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. Confidence limits for regional and demographics results vary depending on the sample size.

The poll indicates that almost one-in-five Canadians (17%) say that they have secretly clipped flowers from a public or a neighbour's garden.

• Younger (27%) Canadians are far more likely than their middle aged (14%) or older (10%) counterparts to admit to having secretly clipped flowers from a public or neighbour's garden.
• Regionally, those in British Columbia (21%) are the most likely to have covertly clipped flowers, while those in Alberta (10%) are the least likely to have done this.
• Women (20%) are more likely than men (15%) to secretly clipped flowers.

One in five (19%) property owners with lawns or gardens (70% of the Canadian public) say that they feel the need to compete with their neighbours for the best garden or greenest lawn.

• Regionally, property owners with lawns or gardens in Quebec (29%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (22%) are the most likely to feel competitive with their neighbours regarding their lawns and gardens. This compares to those in British Columbia (10%) who are least likely to feel competitive in this regard.
• Younger (30%) Canadian property owners with lawns or gardens are more likely than their middle aged (15%) and older (15%) counterparts to feel competitive with regards to their lawns and gardens.

When asked about a number of possible garden ornamentation, bird baths and wishing wells (62%) are the favoured pieces of garden ornamentation for Canadian property owners with lawns or gardens. Decorative wildlife such as butterflies or deer is cited by 16%, followed by garden gnomes (10%) and pink flamingos (4%).

• While there are no significant differences regarding the preference of bird baths and wishing wells, or decorative wildlife across demographic groups, Ontarians (14%) are more likely to cite garden gnomes than Canadians from any other regions, while younger Canadians (8%) are more likely than other age groups to select pink flamingos.

Other findings of the HGTV/Ipsos-Reid poll are that one in five (21%) Canadians would prefer to spend time in their garden than spend intimate time with their partner or spouse (76%) on a sunny Sunday morning .

• Women (31% versus 11% of men) and older Canadian, that is those 55 years of age or older (32% versus 17% of those 18 to 54) are more likely to prefer to spend their time in their garden.

When asked from a list of whom they would most like to garden with, lifestyle guru Martha Stewart was the top choice by one-quarter (25%) of Canadians, followed by hockey great Wayne Gretzky (22%), and actress Pamela Anderson (20%). Oscar winning actor Russell Crowe was selected by 12%, while Canadian gardening expert Mark Cullen was chosen by 11% of Canadians.

• Women are more likely to select Martha Stewart (34% versus 16% of men), Russell Crowe (19% compared to 5% of men) or Mark Cullen (14% compared to 7% of women), while the top choices of men are Pamela Anderson (36% compared to 4% of women) and Wayne Gretzky (25% versus 18% of women).

And finally, two-thirds (64%) of Canadians identify days getting longer and warmer as the first sign of spring. One-in-five (20%) cite robins and other migratory birds returning, and slightly less (15%) say it is the appearance of tulips, other flowers or plants pushing up through the soil as the first sign of spring.

To view the complete release and tables, please download the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900